...I don't consider HRMs groceries. And, I do the math and know I can make the dish at home for much less and probably have all the ingredients I need to do so or something that I can substitute...

This is a really good point and I would like to expand on it. HRMs, no matter how well they are made, are mass produced and have ingredients in them that we wouldn't normally use in our foods, nor would a mid to high end restaurant.

This point is very important to me as DH has many food intolerances and we have to be careful what we buy. I make most things you might buy in a jar or tin or from the frozen food section myself (including condiments) because he can't have them. Many restaurants are getting very good about substitutes but HRMs are made the way they are made and that is that. At least the ones I come into contact with.

I used Take-Out and the Hot Deli a lot while Shrek was in the hospital. I can only eat so many hamburgers. And the grocery Deli's were all closed by the time I would leave the hospital. I found out which restaurants don't mind packing up a To-Go meal. I will get Take Out when I'm tired and want my shoes off while I eat.

__________________“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” - Albert Einstein

No, we are not hurting the restaurant industry when we eat at home. The issue the executive chef had was that HRMs are hurting the bottomlines for restaurants because instead of going to a restaurant for a meal when one doesn't wish to cook at home, people are picking up HRMs, thus, restaurants see fewer patrons during the week. That's where the HRMs are hurting restaurants. I agree with LP--I'm pretty sure these HRMs (the pasta dishes, etc.) are not made in the grocery store but are made in another location and shipped in.

We don't go out much because Hubby likes what I make at home better. We only go out when I don't feel like cooking. There are times when he doesn't want to go out AND I don't want to cook. Those are nights I would consider this type of meal.

__________________No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best!

Excellent point! I see restaurants, fast-food places, HRMs, TV dinners, frozen pizzas, etc. as something I may utilize when I can't/don't want to cook. But I do not exist to keep them in business. They exist to serve our needs. If enough people need their services, they will stay in business.

Excellent point! I see restaurants, fast-food places, HRMs, TV dinners, frozen pizzas, etc. as something I may utilize when I can't/don't want to cook. But I do not exist to keep them in business. They exist to serve our needs. If enough people need their services, they will stay in business.

Amen to that sister.

__________________No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best!

Restaurants are a business. They also employ a lot of people. My parents sold their restaurant, which was located downtown where we lived, when the big box stores started moving in and taking business to the outskirt of town, essentially killing off a lot of the downtown businesses because people no longer shopped downtown and the local stores could not compete with the chain stores. My parents were fortunate, they sold the restaurant before the chain restaurants came in. But, the new owners folded within 5 years. This restaurant had been a mainstay of the downtown area for some 35 years before my parents sold it.

Restaurants are a business. They also employ a lot of people. My parents sold their restaurant, which was located downtown where we lived, when the big box stores started moving in and taking business to the outskirt of town, essentially killing off a lot of the downtown businesses because people no longer shopped downtown and the local stores could not compete with the chain stores. My parents were fortunate, they sold the restaurant before the chain restaurants came in. But, the new owners folded within 5 years. This restaurant had been a mainstay of the downtown area for some 35 years before my parents sold it.

Oh, don't get me wrong--I love eating out at restaurants! Can't afford it a lot, but they definitely serve a purpose. I hate seeing a good restaurant go out of business (my uncle managed a great pancake house that ended up going out of business--I think a lot of people just kind of figured they would always be there to go back to).

As I was peeling carrots, a friend with whom I haven't been in touch for a couple of years, called. This triggered the memory of when her husband was dieing. Here in the Ottawa area at that time there was a group of chefs and cooks who donated, yes, that's right, donated, meals to people who had family members in hospice, undergoing transplants, etc., etc. That is another thing about eating at a restaurant (and, I have priced HRMs, you can get less expensive meals at some restaurants), people who work in the restaurants are part of the community. HRMs sold in grocery stores are often packaged elsewhere and shipped. Sure, the grocery store owner/manager and staff are also part of the community, but will the companies supplying the HRMs ever give back to the community? I guess it is a question of social consciousness. I can't afford either--HRMs or eating in restaurants. I have no choice but to cook at home and to eat what I cook.